provided he/she is located upstate, not in NYC not in Albany.

Do you think that geography will help here? A Downstate apointee living in Buf/Roch/Syr/Utica will only feel like they have been exiled to Siberia. Doesn’t mean they will favor or concentrate on upstate/West just because they’re forced to live there.

The Economic development office can function for the ENTIRE state out of Buffalo, or Rochester, or Syracuse just as effectively (or ineffectively) as out of NYC.

Sure it could. No doubt. Question is, WILL IT?

Plus, with the growth of London, Dubai, and several cities in Asia as world financial capitals, all competing with NYC, the state better have enough foresight to balance its economic base and diversify before it gets kicked in the ass.

I agree again.

But given the history of NYS in the last 50 years, have you seen ANYTHING done with foresight? Skyway is a great example. Built even though the funeral wake for Buffalo as a grain milling/transfer point was already in progress?

Do you see a domed Bills stadium in Lancaster? It’s supposed to be there. 39 years ago it was in the planning stages.

Look at Niagara Falls, USA and Niagara Falls, ONT. Any foresight there?

Frankly, I could see PA, VT, CT and MA just cutting up the state and the Empire State just swallowed up by states not as messed up.

Get back to me when ATMs stop spitting out cash, a la 2001 Argentina.

That said, I agree that Gundersen the guy is more valuable than whatever technique he’s been using.

Upstate New York of the 2000s is not unlike the eastern Europe of the 1990s. It needs Sachsian shock therapy.

True but what does that have to do with it? Gunderson isn’t pushing for that. Neither was Spitzer. And certainly there’s no call for that from Paterson, Bruno, Silver, Rath, Volker, Hoyt, Peoples, or Aintione Thompson either. Razenhofer won’t either. Those are all status quo guys and gals. They are all pushing against big reforms.

If the people of WNY won’t even elect ONE SINGLE STINKIN legislator who seriously pushes for “shock therapy”, even if that person is on the wrong end of near-unanimous votes, then what hope is there that some bureaucrat can make it happen? None.

There’s no electoral evidence I can see that most NYSers want shock therapy type changes. And it’s not just an issue of incumbency. Even when ther are openings, nobody pushing for true fiscal conservatism would stand a chance of winning. Most voters want the status quo policies - even more so downstate, but up here too. The proposaed NYS income tax hike got a majority positive in a NY statewide Sienna poll a few months ago.

The NYS politician who most recently proposed something closest to what you describe was John Faso. About 70% of voters didn’t agree with him evidently. It was clear in 2006 that he favored much more economic refom than Spitzer did. Faso is very well informed on economics and put forth specific proposals for big changes.

Upstate NY will remain in Belarus-like stagnation no matter where they put an economic development exec’s fancy offices. By the way, even under Pataki there were people in the state economic dev office tasked with specific focus on Upstate and WNY. That’s why the Gunderson thing always seemed like just symbolism to me. It didn’t sound new in any significant way except his title. B.F.D. Same shit, different title, with some musical chairs of where the offices are located.

Maybe as a compromise to keep his job he’d agree to ease up on the expensive meals he’s been buing on his expnse account in exchange for being allowed to move back to Saratoga. That stupid episode of idiot grandstanding polticians forcing him to move to Buffalo should’ve been embarassing for this city. We demand that you live here! Then again, imagine how Rochester must have felt.